Sports

Secondary a primary concern moving forward for Cañon City Tigers

By Brandon Hopper

hopperb@canoncitydailyrecord.com

Posted:
10/13/2013 06:44:57 AM MDT

Senior safety Trey Owen tries to make a tackle during the Cañon City Tigers' game against No. 8 Pueblo South on Friday at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo. South won the game 45-33. (Brandon Hopper / Daily Record)

Pilafas (-)

Pueblo — Tigers coach Tom O'Rourke knows how he'd attack his own defense if he were an opposing coach. The exact same way Pueblo South was successful on Friday.

The Colts quarterback aired it out 26 times, and the Colts likely would've thrown it more had the score not held a 31-point margin on multiple occasions.

"I'd try, absolutely," said O'Rourke, who calls the team's defensive plays and is also in charge of its secondary. "Why wouldn't you take a shot? That's why our kids need to have the confidence."

Tigers Tyler Templeton and Mahlon Parsons bring down Colts running back Garrett Krage during the Cañon City Tigers' game against No. 8 Pueblo South on Friday at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo. South won the game 45-33. (Brandon Hopper / Daily Record)

The Tigers have three games left, and O'Rourke hasn't gotten to study much film on either of the teams, but he knows teams will take into account the Tigers' struggles against a good passing team like South. Cañon City also fell in Week 1 to Rampart when the Rams threw for 308 yards.

"We just blew coverage a few times, and a few times they had it right dead in the center of my zone and (safety) Trey (Owen's) zone," said Chris Pilafas, a senior cornerback for the Tigers. Pilafas did have an interception late in the game.

"We have a really good pass defense, we just didn't get it done tonight," he added. "We didn't have a good practice this week."

Spinuzzi said the Colts gameplanned to throw the ball, much like it does against all teams. The team averages more than 200 passing yards per game.

"They have some pretty good athletes," Spinuzzi said about Cañon City's secondary, "but nothing like the athletes that we have, and I know we have great matchups, and we're always able to throw the ball on anybody."

"They hit that long one right away then the kids were maybe a little bit freaked out, so all the stuff we'd worked on ... it just seemed like we didn't know where we were supposed to be," O'Rourke said "That's on me, especially as the head coach and the defensive back coach, those kids ought to know where the heck they're supposed to be."

Looking Ahead

On Deck

Friday: Cañon City vs. Cheyenne Mountain, 7 p.m., Citizens' Stadium*

Oct. 25: Cañon City vs. Palmer Ridge, 7 p.m., Citizens' Stadium*

Nov. 1: Cañon City @ Widefield, 7 p.m., C.A. Foster Stadium*

Nov. 9: First round of state tournament, if necessary

* Foothills League game

It's safe to look at playoff picture with only three games left in the regular season. The Tigers still have Cheyenne Mountain (1-6), Palmer Ridge (2-5) and Widefield (0-7) on the schedule — teams with records that a team deserving of a playoff spot should beat.

If the Tigers don't falter, they'd finish 7-3 overall, a mark that usually gets a team a lower seed when the wild card points determine seeding after the season. To help their cause, though, the Tigers need to root for their non-league opponents Rampart (3-4), Elizabeth (5-2) and Liberty (1-6) to earn more wins.

Entering Friday's games, the Tigers were ranked 18th in the wild card standings. The league winners and the remaining teams with the highest wild card point totals create the 16-team field.

Though complex, the Tigers also want the non-league opponents of the teams they're trailing to lose. The teams the Tigers are chasing are Broomfield, Pueblo West, Windsor and Dakota Ridge, though those could change after Friday's results are recorded and new rankings are released.